In the south of France there is a unique tradition. During Advent, santons or “little saints,” appear in shoe-box sized manger scenes, or creches, and are placed in the dining room or living room of people’s homes. These santons are clay figurines, just three inches tall, painted colorfully in period dress. Each carries a simple gift for the baby Jesus. These manger scenes do not so much represent the story of the Christmas night, but re-stage it, setting the birth of Jesus in the middle of the people of Provence. Each little saint has a specific role as they offer their simple gifts to the Christ child. They are everyday saints.*
We think of saints as holy, other worldly figures, martyrs or miracle workers, dressed in white robes, who stand a part from the rest of us. But a saint is actually defined as a virtuous, kind, and patient person, who offers their simple gifts to the Christ child.
This Sunday we will remember those everyday saints who gave their simple gifts to Christ, the church, and to each one of us. And in the words of the hymn, I Sing a Song of the Saints of God, we will sing to the “Saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green, they were all of them saints of God and I mean, God helping, to be one too.” **
Rev. Terry Hanna
* The Art of Living in the Season, Sylvie Vanhoozer
** Hymn, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God,” written by Lesbia Scott in England in 1929.